page_title: Boian culture
section_title: Material culture
hierarchical_section_title: Boian culture / Material culture
caption_attribution_description: English: Neolithic Boian Culture pottery exposed in Piatra Neamt Museum
context_page_description: The Boian culture, also known as the Giuleşti–Mariţa culture or Mariţa culture, is a Neolithic archaeological culture of Southeast Europe. It is primarily found along the lower course of the Danube in what is now Romania and Bulgaria, and thus may be considered a Danubian culture.
context_section_description: Boian pottery exhibited influences from the earlier cultures from which it arose: chequers and flutings from the Dudeşti culture, and small triangles bordering the lines it inherited from the Musical Note Linear culture. The pottery was polished after firing, and was decorated with carved or raised geometric designs, often with white clay used as an inlaid relief to offset the charcoal grey or black clay used in the rest of the work. In addition to the black/grey and white pottery, a few localized examples of red-inlaid clay decoration were found. Beginning in Phase III, they began to use graphite paint to decorate their pottery, a method probably borrowed from the south Balkan Marica culture. The Boian culture continued to improve its ceramic technology until it reached its height during Phase III, after which it began to decline in quality and workmanship.
  The use of lithic technology occurred throughout this culture's existence, attested to by the presence of debitage found next to various types of shaped flint and polished stone tools. Towards the end of its existence copper artifacts began to be found, made from the high-grade copper found in the Balkan Mountains of Bulgaria. There is evidence that the Boian culture acquired the technology for copper metallurgy; as a result, this culture bridged the change from the Neolithic to the Copper Age.
  Unlike later cultures that followed, there have not been many artifacts found in Boian culture sites of sculptures or figurines. However, the oldest bone figurine in Romania was found at the Cernica site, dating back to Phase I.
caption: Typical Boian culture pottery
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